Chesney names Boys of Fall new single

When the ballad by Casey Beathard and Dave Turnbull landed in a stack of tapes Chesney was listening to for his next record, he liked what he heard.

"I just stopped right there, and played it over and over again," Chesney says of the song. "I knew - as maybe only someone who has felt that thrill of rushing out onto the field on a cold Friday night can - that was exactly how it is...and it also gives you a sense of why playing football in high school is such a powerful thing for anyone who does it. It's life changing; it just is - and for anyone who's never experienced that, this song helps them understand why."

The video for the lead track from his Sept. 28 CD release features New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton delivering a heartfelt speech to the team where the 2010 Super Bowl-winning coach spent his own high school football career,

Chesney is co-producing a documentary featuring many of football's greatest players and coaches addressing the power of the game in shaping their sense of discipline, humanity and dreams.

"The thing about all of it - the song, the video, the documentary, it's not just about people who play football and go onto be Joe Namath or (ESPN's) Kirk Herbstreit, it's about the Moms driving their kids to practice, and the way this'll shape the men their sons will become...the girls who come to the games and cheer - and are part of why the boys want to achieve... It's about the towns who identify with the fate of their team so heavily, it's a topic of conversation at the diner or the barber shop... and the players who won't play past high school, but use the lessons they learn to become successful as their lives evolve."

"Anyone who thinks high school football is just a game hasn't really experienced the best part of high school football. For the coaches, it's the chance to shape lives; for the kids, it's the rush and the glory; for the people watching, it's the thrill of seeing their young men achieve. It brings all kinds of communities together in ways people don't often think about - but anyone who's heard this song, they nod their head and smile, because they know."